1. Field of the Invention
Since at least the mid to late '50s, America, indeed the world, has been fascinated with the concept of fast, when it comes to the preparation of food. Everyone is in a hurry, and few believe that they have time to chew their food, let alone sit down and enjoy it.
In the hustle and bustle of today's work-a-day world, highly significant commercial enterprises have been built around fast foods, and the franchise concept is a huge generator of cash.
The hamburger was, and is, the all time leader in the fast food franchise trade for several reasons, not the least of which is its ability to be safely prepared in a very short period of time, and, of course, it is an American staple.
Chicken, also an American favorite, has been widely hailed as an alternative to the hamburger, but it has some draw backs, not the least of which is the length of time required, under ordinary circumstances, to prepare chicken in a quick manner, and cooked sufficiently, so as to make it safe for human consumption.
In order to speed the cooking process, many commercial enterprises have developed and exclusively employ a pressure cooker with an oil cooking medium, into which chicken parts are placed, and which device literally forces hot oil into the meat for rapid penetration and cooking.
Several other commercial enterprises elect, for both aesthetic and flavor reasons, to prepare chicken whole, i.e., the fowl is dressed for cooking, and then cooked, without first sectioning the bird into its well know parts. Preparation typically takes place in a heated environment such as an oven of some sort, with convection ovens currently leading the way due to their even heat and intensity. However, the current state of the art in baking and roasting devices tend to be less efficient and somewhat slower than is desirable if the market potential is to be optimized. It is within this environment that the present invention has been developed.
It will be understood that, for purposes of this specification, the following definitions are intended to apply:
FOWL, shall mean any edible bird; PA1 DRESSED FOWL, shall mean a fowl that has been fully prepared for cooking by the removal of feathers, pin feathers or the like, and the removal of all internal organs; PA1 PREPARATION, shall mean the cooking, of the dressed fowl, whether by roasting, baking, or any other means or manner involving the application of heat, or any combination thereof.
2. Overview of the Prior Art
The concept which underscores the present invention is that of funneling cooking heat to the inside of the fowl, as well as to its outer surface. That fundamental is not new, in and of itself, but as will be developed hereinafter, has been raised to a new, unique, and commercially acceptable level by the present invention.
An early effort, found in the patent art is represented in the Pulver U.S. Pat. No. 1,802,532, which really does not relate to the preparation of fowl at all, but rather the baking of biscuits, with an internal heating element.
The patents to Ryczek, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,602, and Jovanovic, U.S. Pat. No. number 4,810,856, are representative of the thinking that moisture is important to the preparation of fowl, and both create moisture through the medium of steam applied internally to the bird.
Riesselmann U.S. Pat. No. 4,71 5,273 is yet another variation of the underlying theme. Riesselmann employs a simple heating element in the center of a rotary spit-type device. The heating element is disposed within the cavity of the dressed fowl and throws off heat to cook the bird both internally and externally. As will become apparent from a further reading of this specification, however, the Riesselmann effort is inefficient and ineffective to accomplish the objectives of the present invention.
Several other patented devices exist in the art, among them, Collinucci U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,010, Perez U.S. Pat. No. 2,918,561, Johnson U.S. Pat. No. 3,899,657 and Stepkin U.S. Pat. No. 1,979,501. These patent efforts, far from limiting the scope of the present invention, add emphasis to its novelty and commercial viability.